Meaning, Thought and Reality

Meaning, Thought and Reality

1. Introduction

   • How can we use language to describe the world? Example: describing a movie scene. All languages allow speakers to describe aspects of what they perceive. - I saw Nelson Mandela on TV last night. - We’ve just flown back from london.
     • Names allow us to pick out those specific individuals and specific places. Referring (denoting) is the action of picking and identifying with words such as King Abdullah (refer to a person), Paris (refer to a place), etc. Referent: the entity referred to (Nelson Mandela, Paris).
       • Denoting Referring
         • Is used for the relationship between a linguistic expression and the world. (A room denotes certain classes of items). Is used for the action of a speaker in picking out entities in the world. (A room refers to things in the world). Denoting is a property of words. Referring is what speakers do. Denoting is a stable relationship in a language which is not dependent on any use of a word. Reference is a moment-by-moment relationship: what entity somebody refers to by using the word room depends on the context.
           • Two approaches of meaning
             • Two approaches of meaning a. Referential (denotational) b. Representational
               • Referential (denotational) approach is the action of putting words into relationship with the world is meaning, so that to provide a semantic description for a language we need to show how the expressions of language can ‘hook onto’ the world.

2. Reference

   • Types of reference
     • In this section we will talk about the ways that words may be used to refer. Confined to nominals. Why? a. Referring expressions and non-referring expressions: 1. A referring expression identify an entity: cat, door, etc.
     • Non-referring expressions can never be used to refer: such, very, if, etc. (they contribute to meaning but they can never identify entities in the real world). Exceptional cases: - They performed a cholecystechtomy this morning. (referring expression to an individual operation). - A cholecystechtomy is a serious procedure. ( not a referring expression: generic interpretation).
     • Constant versus variable reference
       • Constant versus variable reference: 1. Constant reference are expressions that have the same referent across a range of utterance: the Eiffel Tower, the Red Sea, etc. 2. Variable reference are expressions that have their reference totally dependent on context. - I wrote to you. (variable ref.) - She put it in my office.
     • Referents and extensions
       • Referents and extensions: 1. A referent of an expression is the thing picked out by uttering the expression in a particular context The referent of The capital of Saudi Arabia is the city of Riyadh. 2. An extension of an expression is the set of things which could possibly be the referent of that expression. The extension of the word city will be the set of all cities.

3. Names

   • Names are labels for people, places, etc. They often seem to have little other meaning. Karl Marx  Context is important in the use of names. Adel Imam (Egyptian comedian) The speaker assumes that the hearer can identify the (Egyptian comedian).
     • How do names work? a. Description theory A shorthand for knowledge about the referent. (associating the name with the right description) How do names work? b. Causal theory Names are socially inherited or borrowed. -Depends on the social knowledge in the use of names.

4. Nouns and noun phrases

   • Definite/indefinite NPs can be used to refer. 2. They can operate like names to pick out, let’s say, an individual. - a. I spoke to a woman about the noise. -b. I spoke to the woman about the noise. (previously identified to the listener)
   • Definite NPs can form definite descriptions where the referent is whoever/whatever fits the description. - She has a crush on the captain of the hockey team. 4. the referent is no referent to fit the description: The King of France is bald.

5. Reference as a Theory of Meaning

   • In its simplest form: reference picks out elements in the real world. Proper nouns denote individuals Common names denote sets of individuals Verbs denote actions Adjectives denote properties of individuals Adverbs denote properties of actions
     • Problems
       • It claims that many words have no meaning. Ex: so, very, but, etc. 2. Many nominal expressions used by speakers do not have a referent that exists or has ever existed: unicorn (they are meaningless if they are related to items in the real world).

6. Mental Representations

   • Sense of a word is a conceptual representation in an individual’s mind. Sense places a new level between words and the world: a level of mental representation. A noun is said to gain its ability to denote because it is associated with something in the speaker’s/hearer’s mind.
   • Images
     • What these mental representations are? Images. However, problems with common nouns! Variations of images: car, house, etc (experience). The most usual modification of the image theory is to hypothesize that the sense of some words, while mental, is not visual but a more abstract element: a concept.
   • Concepts
     • A hypothesis: A noun is a combination of its denotation and a conceptual element. This will entitle two questions: 1. What form can we assign to concepts? 2. How do children acquire them, along their linguistic labels?
   • Necessary and sufficient conditions
     • Concepts can be described by using sets of necessary and sufficient conditions: woman (a list of attributes) - x is a woman if and only if L. Where L is a list of attributes, like: x is human; x is adult; x is a female, etc.
       • Attributes as conditions: Necessary conditions: must be there. Sufficient conditions: a set that is enough to define x In sum, this theory views concepts as lists of bit of knowledge: Problem: 1. not all people share/agree on the same lists. 2. Disagreement on necessary/sufficient conditions. (a three- legged zebra)

7. Prototypes

   • Prototypes are central or typical members of a category but then a shading off into less typical or peripheral members. Chair is a more central member of the category FURNITURE than lamp. Through experiment: People tend to agree more readily on typical members than on less typical members. Why?
   • Relations between concepts
     • Relational nature of conceptual knowledge. A crucial element is not the amount of knowledge but its integration into existing knowledge: Peccary (a kind of wild pig) Pecorino (a kind of Italian cheese)
       • Such relations between concepts have been used to motivate models of conceptual hierarchies

8. Linguistic relativity

   • Linguistic relativity (Sapir and Whorf) refers to that lexicalized concepts impose restrictions on possible ways of thinking. It provides an explanation for a common experience when dealing with different languages. French pourpe and English purple. (translation: lack of fit between words in 2 diff. languages). put on clothes in English/Japanese.
     • Language mirrors cultural differences. People’s thoughts are determined by the categories available to them in their language. A universal semantic theory is possible. Can we translate from one language to another with no difficulty? Can we think in different ways?
   • The language of thought hypothesis
     • Language of thought hypothesis maintains that thinking and speaking, while obviously related, involve levels of representation. The idea of linguistic relativity is rejected by many linguists and researchers in cognitive science (study of intelligence which draws on cognitive psychology, computer science and linguistics).
       • The language of thought is universal. Humans have the same mental architecture and mental processes, though they speak different languages.